


taking care of things

by netherfriends



Series: dream smp god au [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Character Death, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happy Ending, Older Sibling Niki | Nihachu, Platonic Relationships, Stars, Wilbur Soot-centric, a lot of weird metaphors and really detailed explaining, but it already happened, god au go brrr, i start out strong and slowly get weaker, i've been procrastinating about this for months, it's one of the main characters, lol sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28358193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/netherfriends/pseuds/netherfriends
Summary: wilbur knew things. he knew that his and the blood god's stardust had been mixed together at creation, and that's why there was forever a connection between the two. he knew that the stars listened to his every word, following in his way like he was the almighty. he knew that the stars used to never burn out, that he would place each up with care and whisper words of motivation to keep them going.ORthe first installment of dream smp god au, focused around wilbur soot the sky god
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC, Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot, Niki | Nihachu & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Phil Watson, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: dream smp god au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098590
Comments: 16
Kudos: 119





	taking care of things

**Author's Note:**

> this turned out to be wilbur being a big softie
> 
> (there's a very tiny bit about wilbur and techno being twins, which'll end up coming back soon in the series)

wilbur knew things. he knew that his and the blood god's stardust had been mixed together at creation, and that's why there was forever a connection between the two. he knew that the stars listened to his every word, following in his way like he was the almighty. he knew that the stars used to never burn out, that he would place each up with care and whisper words of motivation to keep them going.

wilbur also knew that he wasn't dubbed as the best person. he knew this in the way that he abandoned the stars, bored with the ever grueling task of dealing with them, to spend time away from his region of the sky. every one said that his region was pretty, they marveled in the way that the stars brushed against them felt like a rush of memories shaking their core. they rambled about how the clouds that they walked on were ever perfect, bending to the parting wishes of others.

the mortals loved his sky, mapped it out and studied it till they died. he threw a star once, and humans found joy in it. they found hope in his meaningless plays, made wishes upon the specks of stardust ingrained in their essence. they died looking up at his sky, and thought it was the most beautiful thing ever.

wilbur could slip his hand into the sky, could let it swirl around his fingers, cosmos stretching between his finger tips and stars digging themselves into his nails. sometimes the stars left marks, digging into his skin until he couldn't pull them out, bitter parasites that wanted to cause him pain.

niki used to pull them out, her steady hands gently coaxing the stars out of their grasp on his skin. she would take them and give a small kiss to them, stardust staining her lips. they wouldn't say anything when this happened, didn't feel the need to.

wilbur missed niki, for she no longer visited the sky. the stars weeped for her as well, crying out her name in sadness. 

the stars also weeped for schlatt. they weeped for his presence, for him to come and brush his hands against them. he gave their creator such joy, the mere mention of him brightening up the other. 

wilbur especially avoided the stars for this. he silently wished for the ones who weeped to die out faster. he hated how whenever he walked among them they always sang out about people who were now more of a memory. he pointedly ignored the god of sea, ignored any mention of him. the stars weeped and he bitterly locked his feelings in his chest, vines thickening around him until he couldn't breathe.

that was fine, gods didn't need to breathe anyway.

\--

the stars were shouting.

this was normal, for the stars were never not making noise. whether it be sobbing, or shouting, or laughing, they were always making noise. this time, they were shouting about someone.

someone was here.

wilbur walked among the shouting, almost floating through the chaos. that is when he spotted the intruder, a small boy who was holding a star. he seemed fascinated by it, and didn't seem to mind the cuts he was getting from the star being angry at being held.

"who are you?"

the small boy dropped the star, gaze snapping up in a panic. wilbur took note of the flowers strewn through his blonde hair, placing gently and with care. he didn't seem keen on messing them up.

"i- i'm sorry- please don't hurt me." wilbur laughed, and he must've looked crazy to the younger boy.

"kill you? why would i do that?"

the younger boy seemed to grow confused - and annoyed - at the amused expression forming over the sky god's face.

"because i trespassed? come on, give me something work with you dick!" this made wilbur laugh, and the sound was breezy and light, like the clouds floating through the sky. it twinkled like the stars strewn throughout the inky blue.

wilbur came up to the young boy, his lips tugging upwards into a curt smile.

"what is your name?"

the small boy shifted, "tommy."

"tommy, innit?" wilbur nodded.

wilbur grinned, toothy smile flashing like stars.

"i like you, tommy."

\--

the stars talked about tommy a lot, now, as he visits became more frequent. which wilbur couldn't blame them for, as the young god (he's only been around for a couple hundred years) seemed to catch the eye of attention a lot. wilbur refused to admit that he had grown fond of the blonde boy, as he rambled about his life. he especially liked to talk about his friend, tubbo.

he was the god of health and bees, was he not? tommy always talked about him with a fond smile spread across his freckled face. tommy never talked about what god he was, and although wilbur could just ask bad (he kept files on everything) wilbur chose not to, somehow feeling that it would be better for the young god to tell him on his own.

one day, tommy brought tubbo. the stars were buzzing, and faintly wilbur thought that was ironic as he dashed through the sky, considering tubbo's obsession with bees. tommy and wilbur met in the middle, tubbo holding onto tommy's hands with a vague sense of nervousness and excitement.

tubbo's presence was very care free, like a sunny day with light wind. he was very pleasant, and wilbur liked to pretend to not notice the way tommy and tubbo were joined at the hip. tubbo buzzed, with electric energy and laughter and spirit. it was funny, how many bee puns wilbur could make before tubbo burst out laughing (not many, considering tubbo laughed easily). 

and when the time came for tubbo to leave, they promised to visit again, and wilbur began to form a plan.

\--

"tubbo, dear do you mind answering a question?" wilbur doesn't even question the pet name slipping past his lips, it's almost habit at this point.

tubbo hummed, his hands carefully threading a pair of hydrangeas together with an easy concentration. 

"when you leave me region, where do you two go?" tubbo seems a bit startled with the question, as he tilts his head towards the other god.

"why?" the younger asks, not unkindly. there was a constant humming when tubbo was around, and now it was gentle and soft, like a breeze. ironic, considering they were above the clouds.

wilbur shrugs, leaning back into the soft plush of the cloud. he better not lean back too much, otherwise he'll fall into the cloud and get drenched. tommy had laughed at him when that happened, and wilbur chased him.

"i dunno, just wondering."

tubbo hums, taking the now finished flower crown and placing it atop wilbur's curls. he grins, thumbing the purple petals between his fingers delicately. tubbo liked to make flower crowns, and tommy always refused to take his off. (plus, the flowers never did wilt, an added bonus from tubbo who let his magic flow through the stem so that they wouldn't die.)

"normally we go to philza's place. you know him, right? he sort of took us in." wilbur knew philza, the so proclaimed "angel of death" by the mortals. the two were acquaintances, having met on the rainy day of a post battlefield.

philza was kind and strong, and wilbur was glad that the two boys had someone to look after them.

a laugh rumbled in his throat, like thunder, which wasn't quite wrong from the zap that went down below into the raining area below the two.

"good, good."

\--

the stars were being particularly irritating today, poking and prodding at him and pressing deeper into his skin. whenever this happened his skin always turned grey, and wilbur didn't like it very much. especially considering the marks that they left.

unfortunately niki was gone, so wilbur was left to pick them out himself. he was too rough and impatient, often times just ripping them out like a bandaid, except it hurt ten times more. 

before niki, schlatt would distract him from the pain with his jokes and gentle touches. schlatt was no good at taking out the stars, as he normally annoyed them so that they abandoned wilbur and dug into schlatt's skin.

but of course, both of them were gone now.

"wilbur?" a voice called out for him, stable and gentle. wilbur gave one last glare to the stars, before making his way over to the voice. philza came into view, his black wings rustling slightly behind him.

"oh phil, what's going on?" philza eyed the stars, brows furrowing.

"i was looking for tommy, have you seen him?"

wilbur missed the concerned looks the other was giving him. "no, why?"

philza stepped forward, grabbing wilbur's arm gently. "do those hurt?"

wilbur's breathe hitched.

"we- yeah, yeah." philza hummed, dragging the both of them down to a sit. wilbur watched as a concentrated expression came across phil's face.

"what are you doing?"

philza didn't answer, instead he gently pressed a finger against one of the stars. involuntarily, wilbur let out a slight whimper. philza met his gaze, looking rather concerned for the sky god.

"wil, can i help?" well, in one hand wilbur didn't exactly wanted to be treated like a baby but on the other hand.. it had been so long since someone had tried to take the stars out, and this was a one time opportunity. wilbur didn't want to just abandon it.

wilbur nodded, keeping his eyes trained on the clouds. philza gently prodded at the star, being patient whenever wilbur flinched. after a couple minutes, the first star came out. left behind was a deep imprint, a variety of purple and blue and grey, just like the night sky he had so gently crafted. speckles of stardust clung to the mark, and it made him hiss with the heat.

phil continued the process with the rest of the stars, until wilbur was no longer grey and glowing, life returning back to his skin. there were still deep indents all over his body, but it'd been so long since it hadn't hurt so much that wilbur didn't care. tears pricked at the corner of his eyes, glowing and filled with twinkling lights. a gift, from schlatt when he disappeared.

" _thank you_." wilbur whispered, wrapping his arms around the other god. phil patted him gently, chin propping up onto his shoulder.

\--

tommy was with schlatt.

of course, the sea god just _had_ to go and ruin everyone wilbur cared about. what a prick.

wilbur groaned, the wind brushing past him gently as a gift from the beating sun overhead. why the hell was the sun god like this? he was gonna make velvet _pay_. maybe intrude on the little visit he always had with ant on the lunar eclipse?

before wilbur could think about executing that idea for too long, he came into view of _him_. wilbur crossed his arms, keeping a distance from the other. the waves lapped at his feet peacefully, and he knew that was schlatt's way of welcoming. it _almost_ made him feel fuzzy inside.

schlatt looked the same as before pretty much, mouth still curled into that dopey, mischievous grin, mutton chops still puffy and ridiculous and desperately needing a cut. his feet dug into the sand.

(hadn't wilbur threatened to choke schlatt with sand before? he had, and schlatt had laughed at him with that stupid smile of his.)

"what, are you checking me out loverboy?" schlatt said cheekily. wilbur rolled his eyes, of _course_ schatt would say something like that. loser.

"in your dreams."

"not that lucky."

wilbur sighed, and got closer to his former friend. tommy looked giddy, (and also like he had taken a swim), bouncing on the heels of his feet.

"phil was wondering where you were." tommy scowled, though he did look a bit guilty.

"i had meant to just get some stuff here, got caught up with him." wilbur elbowed schlatt, almost regaining the relationship they before.

"oo, the angel of death is so gonna kill you. better run." schlatt laughed, loud and breathy and it felt like wilbur was drowning in him again. 

"i'm not afraid of philza." schlatt said it so confidently, that it was ridiculous. 

"who's not afraid of who now?" a voice from behind spoke up, and the three whirled around to come face to face with philza. wilbur couldn't help it, and began laughing. the sound made the waves hit him excitedly. 

schlatt tensed up, considering his options. hey, he was no coward.

"me, i'm not afraid of you." philza laughed, wings fluttering absentmindedly.

"good, you shouldn't be." despite his words, the other god gave him a warning look that basically said ' _hurt my family and i'll kill you_ ' which was pretty damn intimidating. schlatt gave a mock salute.

wilbur coughed, leaning slightly on schlatt to recover. it made schlatt feel warm, like things had never changed between them.

"hey bitch, guess what? i saw a shark!" wilbur rolled his eyes.

"really, which one? was it walter? i bet it was walter." tommy's eyes widened, proving his point. schlatt looked embarrased.

"how did you know that!?"

wilbur grinned.

"toms, _i_ was the one who named walter."

tommy screamed.

\--

"jschlatt, stop dragging me down here." wilbur groaned, although made no move to struggle against the shorter god.

( _"what does the j stand for?" schlatt asked curiously, swinging his feet absentmindedly._

_wilbur pretended to think, before a shit-eating grin lit up his face._

_"jackass."_ )

"nah, you love me." _he really doesn't_. 

wilbur voices his thoughts aloud, and schlatt merely laughs.

"besidessss, the ocean really likes you!" schlatt whined. ah, so the ocean also talked about him? how unusual.

"well, go tell it to fuck off."

schlatt gave him a look which said that he was very tempted to drown him. again.

it's much cooler now, enough to where wilbur's wearing a light jacket. he hates the mortal realm, yet schlatt keeps dragging him away to it. it's actually nice, to not be alone as much anymore. he has tommy, and tubbo, and philza.

_and schlatt._

speaking of which, the man isn't wearing a coat at all, which kind of makes wilbur want to punch him. but it makes sense, schlatt has for some odd reason always been a heater. wilbur scowled at that, wrapping his coat closer around him.

"i'm gonna beat you up."

schlatt shook his head, "you couldn't."

wilbur raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean? you're so short that i could just drop-kick you. bye bye schlatt." schlatt groaned from beside him, making sure that his annoyance gets noticed by the other.

"you are legit only two inches taller than me. _two_."

"so?"

"i'm regretting even bringing you here." wilbur snorted, flopping down onto the sand even as it got into his curls. a occasional bird flew from ahead, and wilbur watched it's flight path until it disappeared from his line of sight.

"you love me."

schlatt plopped down next to him, throwing some sand onto wilbur's chest just to make him annoyed.

"eh, probably."

wilbur exhaled, feeling himself relax. his skin itched, as though to remind him that he wasn't supposed to be on the ground. _oh fuck off_.

he hummed, letting his eyes trace the stars that he had hung overhead with great care. it was memorizing, and for a moment he understood why the mortals liked his art so much. it sang to them, drinking them in until they wanted to cradle the sky close. which, in idea, was stupid, but did that really matter?

"this is nice, loverboy."

it really is.

\--

niki became mortal. 

she had been the goddess of hope, once. mortals used to pray to her, and she would always answer, always give them everything she could. she was often overfilled with hope, so often that it spilled out of her. wilbur was there to help her back up, just like she was there for him. 

she was so strong and gentle, and poured herself into everything she did. 

of course, there was one rule. never interact with the mortals unless allowed.

and of course niki had to disobey that rule. _why_ did she have to do that? she had went down into the mortal realm, rambling about how she _needed_ to save someone. she had come across a young desperate boy, and she had helped him. she came back with stories, and wilbur watched as she grew fond with the little boy.

he never met who niki talked about, but he imagined that he was determined and loyal and caring. 

the day it happened had been normal, niki had waved goodbye (all the other stars joining in on a chorus, they all rather liked niki), sweet laugh tinkling like bells. he had smiled and hummed, practicing on the guitar niki had gifted him. she liked his songs, so he wrote more and more. he shared them with niki and schlatt. 

but then jack came, delivering news (after all, he was the god of messages). he looked horrible, hair ruffled up, and he had clearly been crying.

"jack? what's happening? what's wrong?" jack choked on a sob.

"niki, she's- they're turning her _mortal_."

and just like that, wilbur's world shattered into a million pieces.

"what?"

jack hugged themself, "right now, at the hall."

wilbur couldn't think, all he could do was rush out of here. he needed to get to niki, he needed to stop this. this couldn't happen, not now, not ever. he barely even realized he was crying until he tasted salt and stardust in his mouth.

he couldn't lose niki. she was his friend, soft and dependable and unique and now he was going to _lose her_.

he stormed inside the hall, not caring that he was making a scene. the ancient ones all looked up sharply, and they said to never look at them, but wilbur _glared_ at them. niki didn't seem bothered at all with what was happening, her face contorted into a soft smile.

"niki, please-" wilbur choked on his words, because niki was here but so far away.

"wilbur, there's nothing else i can do. i knew this would happen. please, don't cry for me." wilbur crashed into niki's arms, sobs racking his body. she shushed him, patting his hair gently.

he didn't want to let go, please don't make him let go-

wilbur held her hands, as though if he did she wouldn't disappear from him forever. 

" _we were in the middle of something._ " the voices of the ancient ones entered his ears, a jumble of different voices in perfect harmony with each other.

wilbur gave niki one last pleading look. she shook her head with a sad smile.

he stepped away, watching with a lost expression niki's final moments.

" _now, nihachu, you are hereby stripped of your godly powers and sent to live in the mortal realm for your crimes against the ancient rules._ " niki closed her eyes, smile free and welcoming.

and then she was gone, and wilbur crumpled to the ground, weeping with the loss of his friend.

schlatt and niki weren't the closest, and he sometimes annoyed her, but they were still good friends and the absence of her struck him hard. he cradled a crying wilbur in his arms, pressing his face into the other's mop of curls to hide his own tears.

they rocked back and forth, holding onto each other. the stars screamed, pounding at the sky to be let out and seek for the once goddess. the sky screamed, clouds opening up to crackle and fizz and rain. the screaming was loud enough for the whole word to hear, and hear they did.

the worst weather they've ever had, was what the mortals had said, unaware of what had really happened.

the stars screaming was loud, and it hurt wilbur's ears _so much_. schlatt pressed his palms against the other's ears, even though it didn't help. the earth was quaking, and so was wilbur, for his brightest star had finally died out.

niki had passed down every ounce of her power to the little boy who she had cared for. no one knew where he went, but he had disappeared and no one could locate him. wilbur had searched, and searched, and searched but had never found him.

\--

wilbur had found him. he was sure of it.

he hadn't been sure at first, but the more he spent time around tommy, the more he came to the same conclusion: _this is the little boy_. he understood, how niki had grown to care about him. wilbur couldn't help but be fond of tommy, no matter what he was doing.

and he really was the embodiment of hope. 

wilbur noticed how in everything tommy does, there's undoubtedly _niki_ in it. it makes wilbur cry, because god he's so proud of tommy. even if he is a reminder of the one left behind, he didn't care. 

tommy was caring and determined and swore too much, but wilbur loved him all the same.

the topic of her was bound to come up eventually. wilbur had sworn off trying to ask tommy about what god he was (despite already knowing). he would give the boy all the time in the world, wilbur could take it.

the two were sitting in tubbo's bee farm, the buzzing becoming background noise.

"i- i'm the god of hope. niki, do you know her? she- she gave me her powers." wilbur hummed.

"i know."

tommy blinked, arching his head up to blink at the taller of the two.

wilbur chuckled, turning to tommy with an amused and fond expression. schlatt would probably say that he was soft.

"i knew niki, i saw her in you the moment i met you. god, she raised you well, didn't she?" he spoke softly.

tommy sniffed, staring at his hands. "she took care of me, kept me hidden. taught me everything. i watched her _die_ , buried her body." wilbur hugged the smaller boy closer as he sniffed once more.

"i don't- i can't die- i know that- but it was so _hard_ -" wilbur shushed the other boy, carding a hand through his hair mulling over the situation. so niki was dead?

"did she live a good life?"

tommy pressed up against the older god.

"yes, she said that she couldn't have wished for a better one." it hurt, it hurt a _lot_ , but niki was always like this. of course she would die, she would fulfill her life and sew the world together.

"she- i can show you her grave. tubbo- he never met niki, but he comes with me sometimes." 

_her grave._

"please."

and so that's how they were currently crowed around a tombstone, fresh flowers placed there. wilbur couldn't stop staring at the words carved into the stone.

'niki hopë

a friend, a sister and a hope'

tears gathered in his eyes, and he let them fall, crouching down so that his tears dropped down onto her grave. he let out a watery laugh, because he knew that she had lived her life exactly how she wanted to.

tommy crouched down beside him, whispering things under his breath.

wilbur held the old sturdy guitar, trailing his fingers over it. he plucked a string. out of tune, but it still worked. he hadn't played for so long, not since niki.

he thinks it's about time he starts.

\--

wilbur breathed in, trying to settle his nerves. schlatt would be the first person he played in front of for a _very_ long time. he checked, everything was in tune, it was okay.

he started to strum, changing through the cords that he had memorized. it was the first song niki had ever played for him, and the lyrics were in german. wilbur knew german, but he often pronounced the words in a weird way. but niki wouldn't judge him, and schlatt sure as hell wouldn't.

schlatt focused on him, and wilbur found how easy it was to love himself in the music. he began to sing, fumbling on some words but it didn't matter because he was actually _doing it_. he didn't pay attention to the waves lapping at the shore, nor the distant chatter of fishermen. 

it was over before he started, what with him playing the final chord. he sighed, looking up at his sky.

_thank you, niki._


End file.
